Justice Officials Will Watch Osceola Elections

The County Was One Of Three Cited In 2000 For Being Hostile To Hispanic Voters.

August 23, 2002|By April Hunt, Sentinel Staff Writer

KISSIMMEE -- U.S. Justice Department representatives made a brief appearance here this week to check on local officials and remind them that they'll be back in September and November.

The plan is for the federal monitors to ensure Spanish-speaking voters are treated fairly in the primary and general elections, something the Justice Department said didn't happen in 2000.

But, one Hispanic advocate said, the observers will get a pleasant surprise for 2002.

"We are coming together. They are trying very hard to get more bilingual workers. The Hispanic community is slowly getting more involved," said Dalis Guevara, whose late husband, Robert, was Osceola's first and only Hispanic county commissioner.

Recruiting more bilingual staff and poll workers is one of the key goals of deals Orange and Osceola struck with the Justice Department in June to avert federal civil-rights lawsuits.

A brief hearing has been scheduled before U.S. District Court Judge Anne C. Conway on Wednesday to finalize Orange's settlement with the Justice Department.

Orange officials plan to meet with the federal officials after that hearing, and "we also expect them to be here with us in September," said Margaret Dunn, Orange County senior elections deputy.

Justice officials did not return phone calls. However, changes in Osceola are exactly what they wanted to see after citing Orange, Osceola and Miami-Dade counties for being hostile to Hispanic voters.

Like Orange, Osceola has placed ads in local newspapers, seeking bilingual poll workers.

Osceola also has promoted a 10-year veteran of its elections office, Rosa Cruz, to the job of Spanish-language coordinator.

In addition to some temporary workers who were hired, Osceola also plans to rely on some bilingual employees from the school district, who have been given Election Day off to work the polls, as well as some county workers who are taking vacation days to help.

"It's a process, and we are going to try to get it better," said John Ritch, the attorney for Osceola's elections office. "We are committed to making every bilingual voter in the county feel comfortable."

Donna Bryant, Osceola election supervisor, was unavailable for comment, because she has been taking classes to train new poll workers.

Despite offering only $80 for the day's work at the polls, many of the classes have been full.

Guevara was in one of the classes last week and said she noticed about 10 of the 80 recruits were Hispanic.